InsideTracker is a service that analyzes your blood and makes detailed recommendations on ways to improve your health and fitness. It gets rave reviews from a number of high quality, athletic related sources, especially Selene Yeager’s Hit Play Not Pause. It sounded like something I might benefit from, given my heart condition, and since I had planned to make 2022 a big year culminating in Ironman Cozumel, I owed it to myself to give it a try. I also wanted to try it in case I wanted to recommend it to one of my athletes.
After the blood analysis, the main thing it does is offer nutritional advice by way of daily check ins using the app. My bloodwork shows that I have high levels of inflammation. Not really a surprise for an endurance athlete as compared to average, sedentary folks who make up the bulk of what these tests consider normal, but something to be concerned about just the same. InsideTracker prefers natural food solutions, like eating blueberries. Well, recently it told me this:
Your CRP is high. A glass of red wine each day can help to lower it.
Look for a dry red to sip while preparing dinner. Red wine has a higher antioxidant count than white wine and up to ten times more resveratrol, making it a great option to improve your CRP. Dry reds also tend to have a lower sugar content.
Wow. I have been ordered to take a glass of wine every day. The part about preparing dinner is a laugh, as I never do that, so I enjoy mine at dinner. Along with the recommendation to drink red wine was one to consume dark chocolate. I wonder if I am supposed to take them together. I was taught not to eat sweets before dinner. But this is science-based, so it’s all good, right?
Just so you know, CRP (C-reactive protein) is made in the liver in response to inflammation. Its presence is natural. A high level indicates there is something going on in the body that is creating inflammation.
Just as I was enjoying my new wine ritual while browsing the excellent, science-based website, FastTalk, when what do I see but an article by ex VeloNews editor Chris Case titled “Will Giving Up Alcohol Make You a Better Athlete?” A story inspired by the increasing interest in Dry January.
What do I do now? One source says red wine is good for me. Another source suggests alcohol is bad for athletes. How do I sort this out?
The more I learn about athletics and coaching, the more this sort of thing comes up. I should run at a cadence of 90, I should run at a cadence my body is comfortable with and changing it could lead to an injury. I should do some workouts fasted, I should always eat something before a workout. Stretching is good for runners, stretching has no benefits, stretching is bad for runners. Wide tires are faster because they roll over bumps with less resistance, narrow tires are faster because they are more aero.
Often it helps to take a closer look. The advice from InsideTracker is for the general population. Perhaps if the algorithm understood I am an endurance athlete it might not suggest wine. But, like many cyclists I enjoy a cold beer after a tough workout, and wine is much more beneficial than beer. As for tires for my TT bike, Hawaii roads are rough enough that the roll-over bumps effect makes sense. Added to that is rider comfort. Any aerodynamic gain to be had by using skinny tires will require riding at a brisk pace and is more relevant to the velodrome.
The InsideTracker report suggests I confer with my physician about my CRP level. I asked my GP about it at my recent annual physical. He brushed it off, saying something about it not having any impact or relevance. So, is this a case of a company playing upon concerns over an insignificant issue, or one where mainstream medicine is overly concerned with acute illness and not paying enough attention to long term prevention?
My advice is to learn as much as possible, find your own path, catch yourself when you seem to be obsessed with something, and relax at the end of the day with a modest serving of a beverage of your choosing. But no wine in a box. But wait. Glass bottles and corks are bad for the environment. So, wine in a box? Doesn’t the soft plastic bag leach nasty chemicals into the wine?
And, we’re off.